Asian markets traded higher on Friday following overnight gains in US stocks with the S&P 500 entering into a bull market. Japan’s equity market snapped a two-day fall while Australian shares also turned positive after a three days’ fall.
Investors will now focus on the US Federal Reserve Bank’s policy meeting on June 13 after the US jobless claims jumped to the highest since October 2021, suggesting the labor market is starting to cool.
In Asia, China’s Consumer price index in May increased 0.2% as compared to a year ago. The country's CPI in April was at a two-year low of 0.1%.
Producer price index in May fell 4.6%, as against a decline of 3.6% in April, government data showed. Prices fell 0.2% MoM.
On the domestic front, the Reserve Bank of India on Thursday kept the repo rate unchanged at 6.5%. While its commentary on growth remained upbeat, the central bank remained more cautious about the future trajectory of inflation and emphasized that it remains committed to anchoring inflation close to 4%.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.16%, while the Topix gained 0.78%.
South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.39% and the Kosdaq rallied 0.76%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures traded around 80 points higher at 19,379.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 traded 0.28% higher.
The SGX Nifty traded 0.19% higher at 18,756.5, indicating a positive start for the Indian market.
All three major US stock indices ended in the green overnight. The S&P 500 rose 26.41 points, or 0.62%, to close at 4,293.93, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 168.59 points, or 0.5%, higher at 33,833.61. The Nasdaq Composite added 133.63 points, or 1.02%, to end at 13,238.52.
European stocks were subdued on Thursday, with the pan-European STOXX 600 index closing flat.
Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.3% to 7,599.74, while Germany’s DAX rose 0.2% to 15,989.96. France’s CAC 40 inched higher by 0.3% to 7,222.15.
Data showed that the euro zone economy fell into a technical recession in the first quarter.
International gold prices were trading lower. However, the yellow metal was on track for a weekly gain on hopes that the US Federal Reserve may pause rate hikes in its meeting next week.
Spot gold prices fell 0.2% to $1,964.52 per ounce, while the US gold futures held steady at $1,979.50.
Crude oil prices dropped after regional media reports ignited speculation that the US and Iran are nearing a deal that would pave the way for more Iranian crude exports. However, US officials denied the reports, according to Bloomberg. Oil prices are also down amid concerns over the global economy.
Brent crude futures fell 0.30% to $75.73 a barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) was trading 0.31% lower at $71.07 a barrel.
The dollar retreated on Friday, dragged by lower US Treasury yields after a spike in weekly jobless claims raised traders' hopes that a peak in US interest rates was near.
The dollar index last stood at 103.35 in early Asia trade on Friday, having lost more than 0.7% in the previous session, its largest daily decline in weeks, Reuters reported.
Against the Japanese yen, the greenback dipped to a one-week low of 138.765, tracking a slide in the US Treasury yields.
Sterling touched a near one-month high of $1.2564, while the kiwi last bought $0.6095.
The Turkish lira tumbled more than 1% against the dollar to a record low of 23.54.
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